Dear community,
Thank you so much for helping us go to Washington, D.C. to represent Iola High School in the National History Bowl. We are grateful for all the money and time people put in to make such a trip possible.
In the competition itself, we had both a varsity and junior varsity team. The varsity had a record of 2-6, while the JV was 3-7. In its division, the varsity was in a three-way tie for first, but the tie-breaker put us in third.
It was special to us that one of the questions was about our own Frederick Funston. Although we may not have been as successful as we had hoped, we still had a great experience. While on the National Mall, we visited many memorials, monuments and museums.
One of the highlights was being in the balcony of Ford’s Theatre only 10 feet from the box where Abraham Lincoln was shot.
Many of us also got to visit the National Gallery of Art. We saw works by Durer, Calder, Van Gogh, Rembrandt and many others. Each of the monuments amazed us with its size and grandeur. The museums provided opportunities to learn history outside the classroom. It made us proud to be from Kansas when we saw the large exhibit on Amelia Earhart.
Overall, we learned a lot on our trip. Not only were we further educated in our nation’s history, we also viewed amazing art and witnessed mighty architectural feats. Many on the team had never used a subway or metro before, let alone fly. Furthermore, after being to a large city on the East Coast, we can appreciate Iola so much more.
Again, we thank the community for helping us on our trip. The Whitehead Trust deserves extra special thanks. Our sponsors and teachers Jeff Fehr and Travis Hermstein have earned their thank-yous, not only for taking us to Washington, but also for teaching us and instilling a love of history in each of us.
Sincerely,
The IHS
History Bowl Team,
Jason Tidd, Jordan Strickler, Eli Grover, Cody Cokely, Colton Schubert, Michaela Ingle, Alexis Hobbs, Jonathan Tidd, Travis Hermstein, Andrew Waldman, Ankit Gandhi and Taylor Heslop
